Renewable energy production will exacerbate mining threats to biodiversity

Renewable energy production is necessary to halt climate change and reverse associated biodiversity losses. However, generating the required technologies and infrastructure will drive an increase in the production of many metals, creating new mining threats for biodiversity. Here, we map mining areas and assess their spatial coincidence with biodiversity conservation sites and priorities. Mining potentially influences 50 million km2 of Earth’s land surface, with 8% coinciding with Protected Areas, 7% with Key Biodiversity Areas, and 16% with Remaining Wilderness. Most mining areas (82%) target materials needed for renewable energy production, and areas that overlap with Protected Areas and Remaining Wilderness contain a greater density of mines (our indicator of threat severity) compared to the overlapping mining areas that target other materials. Mining threats to biodiversity will increase as more mines target materials for renewable energy production and, without strategic planning, these new threats to biodiversity may surpass those averted by climate change mitigation

A global horizon scan of the future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on urban ecosystems

Technology is transforming societies worldwide. A major innovation is the emergence of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS), which have the potential to revolutionize cities for both people and nature. Nonetheless, the opportunities and challenges associated with RAS for urban ecosystems have yet to be considered systematically. Here, we report the findings of an online horizon scan involving 170 expert participants from 35 countries. We conclude that RAS are likely to transform land use, transport systems and human–nature interactions. The prioritized opportunities were primarily centred on the deployment of RAS for the monitoring and management of biodiversity and ecosystems. Fewer challenges were prioritized. Those that were emphasized concerns surrounding waste from unrecovered RAS, and the quality and interpretation of RAS-collected data. Although the future impacts of RAS for urban ecosystems are difficult to predict, examining potentially important developments early is essential if we are to avoid detrimental consequences but fully realize the benefits

The effects of urban greenspace characteristics and socio-demographics vary among cultural ecosystem services

Urban parks provide numerous cultural ecosystem services that are essential to the wellbeing of residents. However, our understanding of the key variables that determine the provisioning each of these services remains limited, affecting our ability to design greenspaces that provide the unique combination of cultural services required by local residents. Here, we identify variation in the effects of key spatial, environmental, park facility, and socio-demographic variables on the use of urban parks for different cultural ecosystem services, using Brisbane, Australia, as a case study. We completed a participatory GIS survey in which urban residents provided empirical geographic data on urban park visits for different activities and socio-demographic characteristics. These social data were then combined with park vegetation, park facility, and park spatial characteristic data to identify the key variables affecting use for four different cultural services: exercise, nature interactions, social interactions, and relaxation. We show that park characteristics and socio-demographic variables have different effects on all four cultural services. In particular, tree cover decreased park use for social interactions, exercise and relaxation only, and socio-demographics only influenced park use for social interactions and exercise. Among park facilities, the presence of amenities increased only exercise and relaxation visits. Variability in the effects of park characteristics among ecosystem services complicates the ability for urban park management to provide multiple cultural ecosystem services. Identifying and targeting specific variables associated with each ecosystem service is likely to be critical. Our study provides key insights into how to achieve and provide the unique set of cultural services that urban residents require

Assessing ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies: the need for a more mechanistic approach

Positive (synergistic) and negative (trade-off) relationships among ecosystem services are influenced by drivers of change, such as policy interventions and environmental variability, and the mechanisms that link these drivers to ecosystem service outcomes. Failure to account for these drivers and mechanisms can result in poorly informed management decisions and reduced ecosystem service provision. Here, we review the literature to determine the extent to which drivers and mechanisms are considered in assessments of ecosystem service relationships. We show that only 19% of assessments explicitly identify the drivers and mechanisms that lead to ecosystem service relationships. While the proportion of assessments considering drivers has increased over time, most of these studies only implicitly consider the drivers of ecosystem service relationships. We recommend more assessments explicitly identify drivers of trade-offs and synergies, which can be achieved through a greater uptake of causal inference and process-based models, to ensure effective management of ecosystem services

Inequalities in the adaptive cycle: reorganizing after disasters in an unequal world

Natural hazards can trigger disasters that lead to the collapse and reorganization of social-ecological systems. This reorganization can involve systems transitioning to more positive trajectories. The Panarchy framework, which conceptualizes social-ecological systems as dynamic interrelated adaptive cycles, is a common conceptual framework for understanding system reorganization. However, it is unclear how inequalities, social mechanisms known to influence disaster recovery outcomes, shape a system's adaptive cycle post-disaster. Understanding the roles of inequalities can help develop social-ecological models to identify processes that build resilience into disaster recovery. We applied the Panarchy framework to inform propositions describing how inequalities can influence the reorganization of social-ecological systems after disasters triggered by natural hazards. We qualitatively analyzed a selection of case studies that discussed inequalities pre- and post-disasters and related these to adaptive-cycle system characteristics (i.e., potential, connectedness, and resilience). We identified three propositions: 1) The ability of groups to reorganize after a disaster varies across the inequality spectrum; 2) The reorganizing abilities of groups across the inequality spectrum impact one another; and 3) The presence of inequalities affect connectedness within the system. Incorporating these propositions into social-ecological system modeling can improve our understanding of how inequalities impact system reorganization. This information can support disaster recovery plans that strengthen a system's ability to enter a more positive trajectory post-disaster

How to work with children and animals: A guide for school-based citizen science in wildlife research

Engaging school students in wildlife research through citizen science projects can be a win–win for scientists and educators. Not only does it provide a way for scientists to gather new data, but it can also con-tribute to science education and help younger generations become more environmentally aware. However, wild-life research can be challenging in the best of circumstances, and there are few guidelines available to help scientists create successful citizen science projects for school students. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges faced when developing school-based citizen science projects in wildlife research by synthesising two sources of information. First, we conducted a small, school-based citizen science project that investigated the effects of supplementary feeding on urban birds as a case study. Second, we reviewed the literature to develop a database of school-based citizen science projects that address questions in wildlife ecology and conservation. Based on these activities, we present five lessons for scientists considering a school-based citizen science project. Overall, we found that school-based citizen science projects must be carefully designed to ensure reliable data are collected, students remain engaged, and the project is achievable under the logistical constraints presented by conducting wildlife research in a school environment. Ultimately, we conclude that school-based citizen science projects can be a powerful way of collecting wildlife data while also contributing to the education and development of environmentally aware students

Advancing Systematic Conservation Planning for Ecosystem Services

Conservation and sustainable management activities are critical for enhancing ecosystem services. Systematic conservation planning (SCP) is a spatial decision support process used to identify the most cost-effective places for intervention and is increasingly incorporating ecosystem services thinking. Yet, there is no clear guidance on how to incorporate ecosystem service components (i.e., supply, demand, and flow) for multiple beneficiaries into the decision problem underpinning SCP. As such, conservation plans may fall short of maximizing benefits for both people and nature. We propose a benefit-based approach to integrate ecosystem service components into SCP that uses the principles of decision theory. Our approach will improve the likelihood that ecosystem service benefits are enhanced in spatial planning applications.</p

Do conservation covenants consider the delivery of ecosystem services?

Privately protected areas promote the conservation of biodiversity and have also been shown to conserve valuable ecosystem services. Legally binding instruments like conservation covenants are important mechanisms to protect the natural environment on private land. However, the extent to which conservation covenants either explicitly require or allow for the delivery of ecosystem services, and the specific ways through which they achieve this, are largely unexplored. We undertook a content analysis of clauses in individual covenant documents, overarching legislative, and policy frameworks to examine this issue. We use a qualitative coding framework to assess how clauses consider the supply and the flow of ecosystem services to covenantors and society. We found that the requirements of conservation covenants did not widely consider the management ecosystem services. When covenant clauses focused on ecosystem services, they primarily considered the flow of ecosystem services between areas of supply to areas of demand. Clauses primarily considered these ecosystem services flows to the covenantor, with only a small number of clauses explicitly considering to ecosystem services flows to society more broadly. Finally, we found that regulating services, like erosion prevention, were often positively associated with conservation covenants, whereas cultural and provisioning services, like nature-based recreation, were often negatively associated with conservation covenants. Understanding how conservation covenants consider the delivery of ecosystem services is important if privately protected areas are to both conserve biodiversity and promote ecosystem services co-benefits